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BROADCASTING SPORT 24/7

Part of the former International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, has been transformed into the new home of BT Sport with state of the art production and broadcasting systems. With 24/7 capability and reliability crucial, NEC large format and desktop screens deliver superior visual display performance throughout the extensive facility.

An iconic sporting backdrop for BT Sport, BT’s tenancy of the former IBC building contributes towards the legacy of London’s Olympic Park. The new Olympic Park studios are the production hub for BT Sport which shows a host of sporting coverage, including live top tier action from the Barclays Premier League, with 38 exclusively live matches, of which 18 are “top picks”.

The channels also show live FA Cup with Budweiser matches, UEFA Europa League, top tier football from Germany, Italy, France, Brazil, Australia and the USA, live coverage of the Scottish Premiership, plus action from the FA Women’s Super League and 30 live matches from the Football Conference.

From 2015/16, BT Sport will be the new UK home of live UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League football, after a tender process in which BT won the exclusive live broadcast rights to all 350 matches from both tournaments.

The Challenge

Timeline Television, a leading provider of post-production, outside broadcast and studio-based facilities for every major UK network, was selected by BT Sport to lead on the transformation programme. Timeline Television project managed the IBC build to house three large flexible TV studios, sports production galleries, a master control room, 20 edit suites, dubbing theatre and an audience holding area. The design, build and commissioning took just twenty one weeks and is one of the largest and quickest broadcast installations in the industry.

The master control room manages over 150 incoming and outgoing HD vision lines as well as inbound satellite traffic from BT’s Madley earth station, one of Europe’s biggest satellite earth stations, located in Herefordshire. This makes the BT Sport Production Hub one of the most connected buildings in Europe.

Dan McDonnell, Managing Director of Timeline Television, says: “The sheer scale and timeframe of this project has been an incredible challenge but we have worked closely with BT Sport to design and build a real state of the art and flexible broadcast facility matched to their exciting production ambitions. Our careful choice of suppliers and equipment manufacturers has enabled us to meet the tight deadlines.”

Timeline Television selected NEC Display Solutions to supply large format LCD displays plus LCD desktop screens, all required for different applications. NEC products are engineered to an exceptionally high standard for uncompromising reliability and longevity. Backed by a robust warranty and technical support service, Timeline TV was confident in their choice of display partner and assured that NEC would continue to deliver a trusted service to its client into the future.

The NEC Solution

The NEC P Series of high-contrast, premium-grade panels deliver 24/7 performance for heavy duty operation. Operational around the clock, BT Sport required reliable and consistent display performance within its broadcast facility so 24/7 capability was crucial. The monitors needed to precisely show from the DVI output, images from a large number of varied sources, being fed by a multi-viewer. The narrow bezel width allowed the displays to be tiled together to form a video wall arrangement without interruption to the image.

The Result

The NEC displays were installed into all the edit suites, seven galleries, the engineering support room and crucially, into the master control room where mission-critical performance is essential.Jamie Hindhaugh, Chief Operating Officer of BT Sport says “At the core of our new studio build is a spirit of collaboration that brings the best of industry working together toward a common aim: to make the BT Sport studios a world-class hub for the best ideas and talent.”